The oXya blog

10 Tips: Choosing your outsourcer

The decision to outsource professional services is considered by businesses consistently.

Outsourcing can be compared to our relationship with our car. We all know how to drive and can do it competently but when it comes to understanding every aspect of the vehicle, including component parts under the bonnet, it is often best left to those who know better.

SAP business services are no different. By choosing a trusted partner to manage and run it you can focus on what you do best and let others help keep everything running smoothly.

But what are the important factors when choosing a partner?

1: The provider business model is important

Too much internal corporate messaging can get lost in the noise of working life. This can lead to a lack of customer care and is a risky proposition. The business model has to be simple and straight forward and an outsource partner can bring this clarity.

2: Contract VS Business criticality

Do you resolve the issue first or do you consult the contract first? Solving the problem is all the focus should be on. Working with a company that’s not tied up in red tape will reduce costs and ultimately means solutions are found quickly. That’s all that matters to your business.

3: Efficiency (Cost & Time)

Hiring and training relevant staff to develop an in-house team to the level of skill required to manage an entire infrastructure successfully can cost a lot of time and money. Outsourcing ensures you don’t need to concern yourself with this whilst adding the skill sets the partner has to you business.

4: Trust in the people you choose.

Any successful outsourcing relationship demands competence, transparency and trust. You need to ensure that you are comfortable and trusting with the company you choose.

Some may argue that in-house teams can be more reliable and trustworthy, but we know from experience that you can build a great relationship with your Outsourcer. As a third party, we will work hard to provide trust and accountability. Trust and teamwork are the basis of any great partnership. We pride ourselves on building strong relationships with our customers.

5: Trust in the people you choose

Yep. It’s so important we’re saying it twice… and our clients have said as much.

“oXya’s high level of technical expertise and professionalism were a key component of the success of this complex SAP migration project and provides confidence for further project management, “

Conrad Veness, SAP support manager, COFELY

6: Do you want expertise in a certain area?

… or widespread, but diluted IT skills?

Offshoring has been a trend, some companies have done a U-turn. oXya does not offshore and ensure that there are the same local team is always accessible to the customer as we run on a dedicated resource model; our staff turnover is just 2%. Professional continuity helps to maintain our strong working team, in turn helping to ensure you can build long lasting relationships with them too.

7: Simple straight forward business model

It has to be about support, back up and resolution. Not hierarchies and detailed structure. Having direct contact points on a one to one basis means actions lead to results. No dilly dallying or getting caught up in bureaucracy.

8: Be clear in your business requirements

If your outsourcing partner understands the goals and objectives they then know how to measure and exceed expectations. For example: Reliability, flexibility, efficiency and security are our number one priorities. This is how we’re measured. Thnk about what your business requirements are and how you measure them .

9: Who will guarantee work with best practice in mind?

Would you be satisfied with patchy ‘cowboy’ work to temporarily solve issues, or would you like a reliable and comprehensive solution adhering to best practices?